Best Friday Reads: Social Media Rules Us All, and Mints Billionaires

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Humans have had a drastic physical evolution recently—one that has notably taken only a few years. While the evolution from hunched primates to homo sapiens took tens of millions of years, we needed only about a decade to develop an arched neck that is perennially looking down at a smartphone—presumably one with a social media app open.

Whether or not social media is healthy for or bodies—or minds—it now influences every aspect of our life, in particular the economy, with companies from Facebook to Snap now worth billions. It’s important to take some time to review a selection of the most interesting reads from the past week about the world of social media and the technology underpinning it. And what better day than Friday?

Sex, Beer, and Coding: Inside Facebook’s Wild Early Days —Wired Want to know what the wild and crazy early days of Facebook were like? No? Oh, well… OK. I guess you could read it for the insight into how the most influential media platform in (modern?) history was built—or if you want to read some occasionally funny, self-congratulatory quotes from men who appear to believe they are the smartest people to have ever lived.

Oprah, Is That You? On Social Media, the Answer Is Often No. —The New York Times Ah, life as a celebrity: Private jets. Fancy hotels. Presumably all the goat yoga you want. But what about social media identity theft? The New York Times investigates the prevalence of fake accounts that pretend to be the rich and famous. (The blue checkmarks that appear on “verified” accounts are apparently not a strong enough differentiator.) No, there’s no mention of President Trump. On a related note, Twitter is currently working on a way to cut out banned or dead accounts from a user’s follower count.

Get Ready for Rolling Background Checks at Work —Bloomberg Given the numerous incidents at Uber and other ridesharing apps, and greater awareness of sexual harassment, the background screening industry is thriving. One of the latest trends is companies requiring their workers to pass a background check not only to get hired, but to keep the job they already have.

Facebook is Slapped with First Fine for Cambridge Analytica Scandal —The Washington Post So what was the consequence for the Cambridge Analytica scandal? Facebook has received a $664,000 fine (so far) from U.K. watchdogs. Yes, not even $1 million. I got a $14 fine in Portland, OR, in June for driving 53 MPH in a 45 zone. That’s a higher percentage of my annual income than Facebook’s fine is a percentage of its annual net operating cash flow ($24.2 billion). If I just get a raise to $510,000 a year, it’s about equal!